Need to drill small holes

[RickH]

Task to drill 400 holes.
about 100 of them are 0.03" (~0.75mm) and another 100 are 0.04" (~1.0mm)
My DeWalt cordless is a bit heavy to use for this task, and will not close down on 1-.0mm or lower.
I thought to use a pin chuck .... tried 2 from Amazon, but they simply don't run true (they were 1/4" hex fitting) ... think it need to be a collet not a jawed chuck.
... any suggestions on a good pin chuck.

The alternative would be to buy a Dremel equivalent - again any suggestions one review praised this model above Dremel

https://tinyurl.com/Keshi-Rotary

 

[opps]

What are you drilling in to?

Assuming that it is a thin material, I think a snide Dremel might be the better option.

 

[RickH]

5mm Foamex sheet .... so PVC face and foamed core .... not hard material
What is a 'snide Dremel' is that a particular model ?

 

[johnny2007]

Are you drilling into a fixed structure or loose small pieces?

 

[RickH]

A single large sheet of Foamex (2m x 1.6m) so needs to be a handheld tool

 

[opps]

5mm Foamex sheet .... so PVC face and foamed core .... not hard material
What is a 'snide Dremel' is that a particular model ?

By snide, I was referring to a Dremel type tool, and not a specific brand.

I am a wondering if a hand drill might suffice, mind you a decent one might be as expensive as the product that you linked to.

 

[RickH]

I have 2 hand drills - this type : bought before battery drills arrived

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Far better to look for a British or American made double pinnion hand drill such as a (second hand) Stanley 803, but not sure how small a drill they will hold. The best mid market pin chucks were Eclipse at one time, although a decent engineering supply company such as RDG in Mytholmroyd
W Yorkshire should be able to supply an affordable reasonable facsimile model. Most cordless drill chucks have far too much run out - the only good ones are generally the top of the line trade models which have an all metal gearbox and a high quality all metal chuck to match it - not cheap! Example: Makita DHP481

 

[RickH]

I have ordered Eclipse pin chuck to try. Find out Tuesday.

 

[big-all]

panel pin with a .75mm shank will have about a 1.5-2.mm head on it so fit a 8 and possibly a 13mm chuck if greater than 2mm
just make sure its properly centred and tight to avoid chatter oversizing the hole or dancing across the face

 

[RickH]

Found a solution ..... seems you can buy tungsten drills 0.1 to 1.0mm set in 1/8" diam shanks ... and they are cheap enough.

 

[Mike13]

But as they are brittle you need to watch the runout of any drill you use

 

[RickH]

Agree I will use in a Dremel rather than my battery drill

 

[morqthana]

I assume it matters where the holes are? i.e. they're on a grid of some sort, or make a specific pattern?

Good luck retaining your sanity getting 400 holes in the right places by hand.

 

[RickH]

It’s a plastic sheet (Foamex) that will have 400 light fibres (4 different diameters) fed from an LED light engine.
it is to give a ‘starry sky’ effect.
The light engine has a revolving ‘twinkle’ wheel, and can move from white to any RGB mix.
Programmed ripple effects etc.

So no plan or grid, what I will do is dot the back with positional dots where I need to drill.